Helicopter

Authorities in Lake County, Ind. are searching for a person who pointed a laser at a sheriff's helicopter. The helicopter was flying near the Gary-Chicago International Airport last week when a bright red light was flashed into the cockpit, according to the sheriff's office. The light hit the pilot in the eye, causing "brief flash blindness and slight discomfort," the office said Monday. Authorities said a similar incident occurred in 2010 while officers were in the air searching for a...

Three north suburban men face charges of pointing a laser beam at a Chicago Police helicopter Saturday night, police said today. Arrested were Alvin Kang, 25, of Northbrook, Jeremy A. Smith, 24, of Skokie, and Mark P. Lawrence, 25, of Winnetka. The three face misdemeanor charges of unlawful use of a weapon -- pointing a laser at a police officer, according to a release from Chicago Police News Affairs. Kang, whose defense attorney identified him as a graduate student at Northwestern...

A WGN Radio traffic helicopter made a precautionary landing in a parking lot on the southwest end of the College of DuPage campus in Glen Ellyn this morning. The copter landed safely about 7 a.m. after experiencing mechanical problems, College of DuPage spokesman Bill Troller said. Nobody was hurt, and the parking lot was largely empty at the time of the landing. -- John Loboda

NEW YORK -- The Coast Guard says a small plane has collided with a helicopter over the Hudson River. Witnesses say the accident happened just after noon between Manhattan and Hoboken, N.J. Both aircraft crashed into the water. More from Associated Press on chicagotribune.com

Interstate Highway 57 had to be closed in both directions early this morning to allow a medical evacuation helicopter to land and take a crash victim to the hospital. At about 12:30 a.m., a 21-year-old male driver fell asleep, drove off the northbound roadway near Kedzie Avenue, struck a tree and came to rest against a high-voltage box, according to Illinois State Police. The driver wasn't injured, but his 18-year-old female passenger was and had to be taken by helicopter to Advocate Christ...

Authorities in Lake County, Ind. are searching for a person who pointed a laser at a sheriff's helicopter. The helicopter was flying near the Gary-Chicago International Airport last week when a bright red light was flashed into the cockpit, according to the sheriff's office. The light hit the pilot in the eye, causing "brief flash blindness and slight discomfort," the office said Monday. Authorities said a similar incident occurred in 2010 while officers were in the...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- An Army Blackhawk helicopter crashed in a field on the campus of Texas A&M University, killing one person and injuring four others aboard, The Associated Press reported. No one was hurt on the ground when the helicopter crashed this afternoon near the Corps of Cadets field on the school's College Station campus, about 100 miles northwest of Houston. A Texas A&M spokesman said a crew of four and an Army lieutenant assigned to the school's ROTC unit were...

Donald Trump will be in Chicago Wednesday for the ceremonial topping off of his 92-story riverfront skyscraper, but the real drama will come next month when a helicopter lifts the tower's ornamental spire into place. For more, read Blair Kamin's Skyline blog

A 7-year-old boy remains hospitalized Thursday with apparent head injuries after he rode his bike through a stop sign and into an intersection in Tower Lakes where he struck a sport utility vehicle, police said. The extent of the boy's injuries is not known, said Sgt. James Walton, Tower Lakes patrol division supervisor. He was flown by helicopter Wednesday after the incident to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. The boy, who was wearing a helmet, was...

A hiker from suburban Lake Zurich is recovering at an eastern Tennessee hospital after being bitten by a snake on the Appalachian Trail. A supervisor with Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services identified the victim as 20-year-old Alex Rieger. The Associated Press reports he was in fair condition today at the Johnson City Medical Center, where he was flown by helicopter late Thursday night. Emergency personnel rescued Rieger after the county 911 center received a call...

A helicopter containing two people crashed late this afternoon at the Schaumburg Airport but no one was injured, police said. Schaumburg police and fire crews were sent to 905 W. Irving Park Rd. in the northwest suburb at 5:44 p.m., according to a police news release. Read more on TribLocal .

A 7-year-old boy remains hospitalized Thursday with apparent head injuries after he rode his bike through a stop sign and into an intersection in Tower Lakes where he struck a sport utility vehicle, police said. The extent of the boy's injuries is not known, said Sgt. James Walton, Tower Lakes patrol division supervisor. He was flown by helicopter Wednesday after the incident to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. The boy, who was wearing a helmet, was...

NEW YORK -- The Coast Guard says a small plane has collided with a helicopter over the Hudson River. Witnesses say the accident happened just after noon between Manhattan and Hoboken, N.J. Both aircraft crashed into the water. More from Associated Press on chicagotribune.com

Members of the Secret Service have been conducting exercises in helicopters over Chicago in preparation for President Barack Obama's visit Thursday, officials said today. Obama is scheduled to attend a dinner with political supporters and a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, his first Chicago political event since his election last fall. After a stop in Ohio, the president will head to Chicago for a private dinner organized by fundraiser Penny Pritzker, then plans to join members of...

A hiker from suburban Lake Zurich is recovering at an eastern Tennessee hospital after being bitten by a snake on the Appalachian Trail. A supervisor with Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services identified the victim as 20-year-old Alex Rieger. The Associated Press reports he was in fair condition today at the Johnson City Medical Center, where he was flown by helicopter late Thursday night. Emergency personnel rescued Rieger after the county 911 center received a call...

Two 70-year-old Chicago women were killed and two others injured Monday when their car struck a semitrailer truck head-on in icy conditions in DeKalb, officials said today. Killed were Sarah P. Conway and Mary T. Heidkamp, who both lived at St. Gertrude Parish in the Edgewater neighborhood on the city's Far North Side. Two other women, members of the same parish, were flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital. Their conditions were not available today. The crash occurred...

A helicopter containing two people crashed late this afternoon at the Schaumburg Airport but no one was injured, police said. Schaumburg police and fire crews were sent to 905 W. Irving Park Rd. in the northwest suburb at 5:44 p.m., according to a police news release. Read more on TribLocal .

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- An Army Blackhawk helicopter crashed in a field on the campus of Texas A&M University, killing one person and injuring four others aboard, The Associated Press reported. No one was hurt on the ground when the helicopter crashed this afternoon near the Corps of Cadets field on the school's College Station campus, about 100 miles northwest of Houston. A Texas A&M spokesman said a crew of four and an Army lieutenant assigned to the school's ROTC unit were...

HOUMA, La. -- Eight people were killed and a ninth was reported critically injured after a helicopter bound for the offshore oil fields crashed Sunday afternoon in marshlands about 100 miles southwest of New Orleans, the Associated Press reports. The helicopter, operated by PHI Inc., crashed about 3:30 p.m. shortly after taking off from PHI's base in Amelia, said Richard Rovinelli, a spokesman for the company. The cause of the crash isn't clear. Rovinelli did not know the type of helicopter or its...